Baku, Sofia vow for deeper cooperation
Situated in the eastern Balkans, Bulgaria is among the countries of the European continent that Azerbaijan actively expands its cooperation with.
The strong and friendly relations between the two friendly states have become the basis for effective economic cooperation.
Bulgaria welcomes the agreement of a new comprehensive agreement with the European Union, as it is one of the countries of a large European family that is building longterm plans for future cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Friday’s official visit of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to Baku is evidence that Azerbaijan is constantly in the focus of Europe's attention and is of particular interest to Bulgaria as the leading country in the South Caucasus region and a reliable energy security guarantor of Europe.
Azerbaijan is an important strategic and economic partner of Bulgaria, which signed about 70 documents on cooperation. Over the past five years, the President and the vice-president of Bulgaria have visited Azerbaijan four times, which became the basis for the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership in 2015.
Bulgaria is a very close partner and friendly country for Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev on October 13, noting that the two countries have great potential for development of bilateral cooperation, and that Azerbaijani gas will play its role in solving issues of energy security in Bulgaria.
He expressed confidence that the two countries’ economic potential is more than the existing potential.
Along with having such good political relations, the two countries should pay attention to trade, investment and other areas, said Ilham Aliyev. “As a result, our partnership will be further expanded and diversified.”
Azerbaijan is actively searching for markets to promote its non-oil sector products, and one of the areas for cooperation can be the supply of agricultural products to Bulgaria. Export of domestic products to external European markets can be a great help to enhance the image of the country as a producer of quality products, as well as earn solid profits and foreign investment.
Speaking at the event Radev also underlined an important role of Azerbaijan in providing diversification opportunities in Eastern and Central Europe.
“We are very pleased with the discussions between the leadership of our countries and our stay here to continue the dialogue. We believe that the intensity of the political dialogue shows that there are very good relations between our countries and peoples,” he said.
Radev added that the level of political dialogue creates good conditions for the development of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria cooperation in many other areas.
Bulgaria is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in many areas, among which a special place is given to energy. Bulgaria imports Azerbaijani oil, and now negotiations are underway on the possibility of supplying Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria.
In addition, Bulgaria pursues a policy of diversifying energy supplies and fully supports the ‘Southern Gas Corridor’ project, which involves the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe.
“We have just discussed economic and energy cooperation, its opportunities and potential. We support the Southern Gas Corridor,” he noted.
“There is great potential for transportation and creating a transport corridor. We also discussed direct flights between Sofia and Baku, important for our countries. If we are able to open this route, we will contribute to the development of all other spheres,” Rumen Radev added.
Energy contacts between the two countries promise to be of a long-term nature, since by 2020 Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to Bulgaria in the amount of one third of total consumption. In fact, in three years, Bulgaria will start receiving annually a billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas, while today about 95 percent of the country's needs are covered by the supply of Russian Gazprom.
To date, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is studying possible options for transporting additional volumes of natural gas to Bulgaria with subsequent distribution to other countries in South-Eastern Europe.
During a joint press conference President Aliyev said that Azerbaijani gas will play its role in resolving the issues of Bulgaria's energy security.
“Today, we exchanged views on energy cooperation. We are strategic partners in this area too. Bulgaria is a member of the Southern Gas Corridor. Bulgaria has always been excellently represented at the Meeting of Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, which Baku hosted for several times.”
“The execution of the Southern Gas Corridor will bring our countries even closer to each other. This is a huge transnational project. By uniting seven countries, this project envisages investment of $40 billion. Gas from Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz field will be delivered to European countries, to the countries in the region, including Bulgaria,” the head of state said.